Systems and methods for locking swivel joints when performing subterranean operations

ABSTRACT

A system for performing subterranean operations is disclosed. The system includes a coiled tubing having a first segment and a second segment. The system further includes a swivel joint positioned at an interface of the first segment and the second segment and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is operable to engage and disengage the swivel joint.

BACKGROUND

Different stages of a subterranean drilling and completion operation often involve the use of coiled tubing. For example, all or part of a wellbore may be drilled using coiled tubing instead of more traditional drilipipe.

An exemplary embodiment of a typical coiled tubing oil well drilling system is shown in FIG. 1. The drilling system comprises a coiled tubing 102 which is placed on a reel 104. The coiled tubing 102 passes over a gooseneck 106 and is directed downhole through an injector head 108 into the formation 110. During a coiled tubing drilling operation, the coiled tubing 102 is fed off the reel 104 over an injector head 108 into the wellbore. Drilling fluid is delivered to the bottomhole assembly 114 and the drill bit 116 through the coiled tubing 102. The drilling fluid is then returned to the surface through the annulus between the wellbore wall or casing and the coiled tubing 102. The returned fluid, which may contain drill cuttings and other materials, is directed to a returned fluid pipe 118 and delivered to a mud pit 120. A recirculation pump 122 may then recirculate the drilling fluid through the pipe 124 to the coiled tubing 102.

The coiled tubing is a solid tube without breaks or joints and is thus unable to rotate. Accordingly, coiled tubing drilling has limitations related to the inability to rotate the coiled tubing in the wellbore. Such limitations include inefficient transfer of power to the drill bit, inefficient hole cleaning and an inability to overcome the friction between the wellbore and the tubing, limiting the ultimate reach of the system. An ability to rotate the portion of the coiled tubing string that is in the wellbore alleviates many of these limitations, making coiled tubing drilling a more viable alternative to traditional drilling operations using a drill rig and drillpipe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a typical coiled tubing oil well drilling system;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a swivel joint in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a coiled tubing oil well drilling system in accordance

While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to example embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions may be made to achieve the specific implementation goals, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure.

To facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, the following examples of certain embodiments are given. In no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the invention. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to horizontal, vertical, deviated, or otherwise nonlinear wellbores in any type of subterranean formation. Embodiments may be applicable to injection wells as well as production wells, including hydrocarbon wells.

The terms “couple” or “couples,” as used herein are intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect mechanical connection via other devices and connections. The term “uphole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the distal end towards the surface, and “downhole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the surface towards the distal end.

It will be understood that the term “oil well drilling equipment” or “oil well drilling system” is not intended to limit the use of the equipment and processes described with those terms to drilling an oil well. The terms also encompass drilling natural gas wells or hydrocarbon wells in general. Further, such wells can be used for production, monitoring, or injection in relation to the recovery of hydrocarbons or other materials from the subsurface.

The present application is directed to methods and systems for performing subterranean operations and particularly, to using coiled tubing with lockable swivel joints when performing drilling operations.

In one embodiment, the swivel joints may be locked and unlocked using a sliding sleeve that slides up as the coiled tubing goes through the injector head into the borehole. By sliding up, the sleeve locks the swivel joint to substantially prevent the relative rotation of adjoining coiled tubing segments. In the reverse, when pulling the coiled tubing through the injector head out of the borehole, the sleeve may slide down and allow the swivel joint to rotate again, thereby permitting adjoining segments of coiled tubing to rotate relative to each other.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a swivel joint in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. A locking mechanism may be used to lock and/or unlock the swivel joints 10. Specifically, the locking mechanism may engage the swivel joints 10 such that the adjoining segments of the coiled tubing are rotationally coupled, and/or it may disengage the swivel joints such that the adjoining segments of coiled tubing 16 can be independently rotatable. Two segments are deemed “rotationally coupled” when rotating one of the two segments will rotate the other one of the two segments. In contrast, two segments are deemed “rotationally decoupled” when rotating one of the two segments will not rotate the other segment.

In this exemplary embodiment, the swivel joint 10 is comprised of a latch mechanism. Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the swivel joint 10 includes a first portion 11 having one or more latch receptacles 12 and a sleeve portion 14 which may include one or more latch portions 13 formed as projections that may be locked into the one or more latch receptacles 12 on the first portion 11 of the swivel joint 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the first portion 11 may be provided on a first segment of the coiled tubing and the sleeve portion 14 may be on a second, adjoining segment of coiled tubing.

In one embodiment, the swivel joint 10 may be engaged and disengaged by a locking device located at or near an injector head. Accordingly, the locking device is operable to couple the first portion 11 to the sleeve portion 14. In one exemplary embodiment, the locking device may be a mechanical system, an electrical system, a magnetic system and/or a combination of one or more of these systems. In one embodiment, the locking device may mechanically flip the latch 13 into the latch receptacle 12 as the coiled tubing 16 moves downhole through the injector head and it may disengage the latch 13 from the latch receptacle 12 when the coiled tubing 16 is pulled out of the wellbore through the injector head.

Although a mechanical latching mechanism is described in conjunction with FIG. 2, as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, other mechanisms may be used to engage or disengage the swivel joints. For instance, in one exemplary embodiment, the swivel joints may be remotely controlled by an operator. In this embodiment, the operator may selectively engage or disengage particular swivel joints, thereby controlling which coiled tubing segments can rotate independently and which ones cannot. In such embodiment, wired or wireless communications systems may be used to engage or disengage the first portion 11 and the sleeve portion 14 of the swivel joint 10. Such communications systems are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will, therefore, not be discussed in detail herein.

Moreover, although a particular latch and receptacle configuration is depicted in FIG. 2, other latch mechanism configurations may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although a latch mechanism is depicted in FIG. 2, other mechanisms may be used to engage and/or disengage the swivel joint. For instance, in one exemplary embodiment, a magnetic connection between the first portion 11 and the sleeve 14 may be used to engage and/or disengage the swivel joints 10. Specifically, the operator may activate the magnetic force between the first portion 11 and the sleeve portion 14 for swivel joints that are desired to be engaged, and deactivate the magnetic force for swivel joints 10 that are desired to be disengaged.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a side view of a coiled tubing oil well drilling system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown where the swivel joints 10 separate different segments of the coiled tubing 16. Specifically, a swivel joint 10 may be provided at the interface between a pair of segments of coiled tubing 16 as shown in FIG. 3. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the present invention is not limited by the number or positioning of the swivel joints 10 or the coiled tubing segments and FIG. 3 is used for illustrative purposes.

As shown in FIG. 3, swivel joints 10 may be selectively engaged. Specifically, one or more swivel joints 10 may be disengaged initially. In one embodiment, the swivel joints 10 downhole may be locked in position as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, and discussed in more detail below.

When performing subterranean operations, the coiled tubing 16 may be directed downhole through an injector head 20. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the swivel joints 10A which are located above the ground and/or above the injector head 20 may be disengaged while the swivel joints 10B located below the ground and/or below the injector head may be engaged. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the operator may decide at which point the swivel joints 10 are locked and/or unlocked. Specifically, in one embodiment, the swivel joints 10 may be locked and/or unlocked at a point further downhole from the injector head 20. Accordingly, the segments of coiled tubing 16 located above the ground and/or above the injector head 20 may rotate relative to their adjoining segments as well as relative to the coiled tubing segment located below the injector head 20. As a result, the rotation of the coiled tubing 16 portion located below the injector head will not impact the portion of the coiled tubing located above the ground, on the gooseneck 28 or the reel 26.

In contrast, once the coiled tubing 16 passes through the injector head 20, the swivel joints 10B may be engaged, rotationally coupling the adjoining segments of the coiled tubing 16 located downhole. With the swivel joints 10 located below the injector head 20 engaged, the rotation from a rotation device 24, located at or near the surface, mounted in, on or below the injector head 20, may be used to rotate the drill bit 22. Specifically, with the swivel joints 10 engaged, rotation may be transferred downhole to the drill bit 22. Accordingly, the torque generated by the rotation device at or near the injector head 20 may be transferred downhole by the coiled tubing to the Bottom Hole Assembly 18 and the drill bit 22.

As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, any suitable device may be used to rotate the portion of the coiled tubing 16 downhole. In one exemplary embodiment, the rotation device 24 may be a rotary table where one directional slips can be used to clamp the coiled tubing 16 and couple the rotation of the rotary table to the coiled tubing 16. In another exemplary embodiment, a high torque spinner may be mounted below the injector head 20 or inside the injector head 20. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the rotation device may clamp around the coiled tubing 16 when rotation is required and may be powered using hydraulics, an air motor, or an electric motor.

In one embodiment, the swivel joint 10 may be equipped with a cleaning device. The cleaning device may be used to clean the different swivel joint 10 components such as the bearings and the grooves thereon. The cleaning device may be in the form of a hig-power water or air flow, or it may be in the form of a simple wiper seal, or in the form of rotating brushes, or any combination of two or more of such devices.

As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the swivel joints 10 having a locking mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may render the coiled tubing segmented string spoolable. Accordingly, the spoolable segmented coiled tubing may provide continuous circulation and axial movement and control the axial speed of the drilling process. Moreover, the improved segmented coiled tubing is better suited for use in conjunction with Managed Pressure Drilling (“MPD”) and underbalanced drilling (“UBD”).

As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the present invention allows both clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation of the coiled tubing, which may facilitate hole cleaning, motor toolface orientation for directional drilling, or working through tight spots in the wellbore, as well as be used to activate and de-activate downhole devices, such as underreamers, circulating subs and the like. Moreover, the present invention may also be used in this fashion to seat and unseat packers and like devices in completions, workover, or well intervention-type operations.

As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with an embodiment with a hybrid string of tubing located below the coiled tubing. Further, as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the locking mechanism must be strong enough to withstand the torque imparted onto the coiled tubing during rotation and must lock in so as not to allow the system to become unlocked downhole.

The present invention is therefore well-adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends mentioned, as well as those that are inherent therein. While the invention has been depicted, described and is defined by references to examples of the invention, such a reference does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is capable of considerable modification, alteration and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described examples are not exhaustive of the invention. Consequently, the invention is intended to be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims, giving full cognizance to equivalents in all respects. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for performing subterranean operations comprising: a coiled tubing; wherein the coiled tubing comprises a first segment and a second segment; a swivel joint; wherein the swivel joint is positioned at an interface of the first segment and the second segment; and a locking mechanism; wherein the locking mechanism is operable to engage and disengage the swivel joint.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein when the swivel joint is engaged, the first segment is rotationally coupled to the second segment.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the swivel joint comprises a first portion and a sleeve portion.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the first portion is positioned on the first segment and the sleeve portion is positioned on the second segment.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the locking mechanism engages the swivel joint by coupling the first portion and the sleeve portion.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the locking mechanism is selected from a group consisting of a mechanical system, an electrical system, and a magnetic system.
 7. The system of claim 3, wherein the first portion comprises a latch receptacle; wherein the sleeve portion comprises a latch; and wherein the latch locks into the latch receptacle when the swivel joint is engaged.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the coiled tubing is directed downhole through an injector head; and wherein the locking mechanism engages the swivel joint when the first segment and the second segment pass through the injector head.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the swivel joint is equipped with a cleaning device; wherein the cleaning device is selected from the group consisting of a high-power water flow, a high-power air flow, a wiper seal, a rotating brush; and a combination thereof.
 10. A method of performing subterranean operations comprising: providing a coiled tubing comprising a plurality of segments; wherein the plurality of segments are rotationally decoupled; providing a swivel joint at an interface of at least one pair of the plurality of segments; and engaging the swivel joint when the at least one pair of the plurality of segments is directed downhole; wherein engaging the swivel joint comprises rotationally coupling the at least one pair of the plurality of segments.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein engaging the swivel joint comprises: locking a first portion of the swivel joint on a first one of the at least one pair of the plurality of segments and a sleeve portion on a second one of the at least one pair of the plurality of segments.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein engaging the swivel joint comprises engaging the swivel joint using at least one of an electrical system, a mechanical system, and a magnetic system.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising disengaging the swivel joint when the at least one pair of the plurality of segments is directed uphole; wherein disengaging the swivel joint comprises rotationally decoupling the at least one pair of the plurality of segments.
 14. A method of performing subterranean operations comprising: providing a segmented coiled tubing comprising a first portion located below a rotation device and a second portion located above the rotation device; providing a swivel joint at an interface of a pair of segments of the segmented coiled tubing of the first portion; engaging the swivel joint; wherein engaging the swivel joint rotationally couples the pair of segments of the segmented coiled tubing of the first portion; and rotating the rotation device, wherein rotating the rotation device rotates the first portion of the segmented coiled tubing.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising rotationally coupling the segmented coiled tubing to a drill bit, wherein rotating the rotation device rotates the drill bit.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing an injector head, wherein location of the rotation device is selected from the group consisting of in the injector head, on the injector head, and below the injector head.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein engaging the swivel joint comprises: locking a portion of the swivel joint on a first one of the pair of segments of the segmented coiled tubing of the first portion and a portion of the swivel joint on a second one of the pair of segments of the segmented coiled tubing of the first portion.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein engaging the swivel joint comprises engaging the swivel joint using at least one of an electrical system, a mechanical system, and a magnetic system.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the rotation device is selected from the group consisting of a rotary table and a high torque spinner.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the rotation device is clamped around the segmented coiled tubing before rotating the rotation device. 